Students from Alexandra Primary school were given an exclusive tour of the former Chocolate Factory in Wood Green to learn about how we build council homes.
Dressed up in hi-vis and hard hats, 10 children aged seven to 11 from Alexandra’s school council were given the opportunity to visit the site and meet councillors and the construction company building Haringey’s homes.
Pupils met the Leader of the Council, Cllr Peray Ahmet and the Cabinet Member for Housebuilding Placemaking and Local Economy, Cllr Ruth Gordon, and learned about the importance of the council’s commitment to building 3,000 high-quality and affordable council homes by 2031.
Yaroslav Landyak, the Site Manager at Formation Design and Build, was on hand to discuss the practicalities of housebuilding and the skills needed to build homes.
Following the tour, pupils were encouraged to create a piece of artwork which has been inspired by their visit.
Cllr Ruth Gordon, Cabinet Member for Council House building, Placemaking, and Local Economy, said:
I’m so pleased that we’re showing young people the important work we’re doing to provide affordable homes for local people.
We want our housebuilding projects to reflect the priorities of residents, and talking to young people means they have more opportunities to shape their local area.
With the breathtaking views of Alexandra Palace, these homes will provide affordable, eco-friendly, high-quality houses that local people will be proud to call home.
Yaroslav Landyak, the Site Manager at Formation Design and Build, said:
We were delighted to have the school children at our site today, our staff enjoyed the interaction. We enjoyed sharing some knowledge of what we do with the next generation and escorting them around the green routes on site. It is important that we talk about what we do to young people, as we’d like to encourage them to take up a career in construction. The children knew about some of the roles on site, the Q and A at the end of the event would have been very useful to them. We are looking forward to seeing their artwork soon.
The new development, which is located in the heart of Haringey, will see 80 new council homes at council rent. This will include 71 apartments and nine houses and is part of the programme that delivers one in 10 of the Mayor of London’s 20,000 home target.
Sustainability has remained a priority throughout the planning and delivery of the programme. The new homes will have high levels of insulation and air-source heat pumps, which will make them cheap to heat. Homes will be constructed with responsibly sourced and environmentally friendly materials.
